Shepherd Hill Regional may be playing in Division 4, but one would never know by looking at its schedule.

The Rams, who reached the Division 2 Super Bowl last year before falling to Nashoba Regional at Gillette Stadium, are playing one of the toughest schedules in Central Massachusetts this fall — despite being placed in Division 4 under the new alignment. In addition to games against fellow divisional opponents St. Peter-Marian, Holy Name and Grafton — all of whom will be playoff contenders — the Rams also have Division 2 powers Leominster and Wachusett Regional as well as Gardner, which should be quite strong this fall.

Shepherd Hill opened its season with a hard-fought, 14-8 win over vastly improved Fitchburg High at Crocker Field, always a difficult place to play.

"I looked at our schedule when we got it and I thought that this was going to be a challenging season," Rams coach Chris Lindstrom said. "It certainly kept me up a few nights worrying about how we will handle playing so many challenging teams."

Lindstrom is being a bit humble. His Rams have always been able to compete with the better teams in the area. However, jumping up to face three of the traditional Division 1 powers (now in Division 2) is daunting for any program.

Shepherd Hill will not be without its weapons, however. The Rams feature one of the best offensive lines in the area, which will help them control the ball and the pace of the game. The line is anchored by center Josh Ponce de Leon and junior guard Chris Lindstrom, who earned a spot on the Central Mass. Division 2 All-Star team last year. Juniors Austin Jones (guard), Chase Fibbert (tackle), Cam MacDonald (tackle) and Dan Gilligan (end) and seniors James Duhamel and James McGuigan (ends) round out the stellar front.

"We think we have the potential to be good on the line," coach Lindstrom said. "Our guys got bigger but they also have to understand that to be a good lineman, you don't have to be just big, you have to be quick and athletic. We will be working on that as the season progresses."

The Rams are also deep at the skill positions. Led by Drew Jean-Guillaume, who has shifted from running back to quarterback, Shepherd Hill has plenty of weapons in its double-wing attack. Jake Gelb (958 rushing yards and 10 TDs a year ago) should be one of the top runners, while senior Robbie Brooks and sophomores Brady Ravenelle and Tanner Amico should also get some touches.

"It will be a challenge for our guys," Lindstrom said. "But there is nothing more worthy than a challenge. We play some of the most storied programs in Central Mass. football this year. What an honor that is. Our kids are looking forward to it."

Tough test for Tantasqua

When he worked as an assistant coach at Auburn, new Tantasqua Regional coach Joe Beveridge learned the motto, "If you want to be a good team, you have to beat good teams." In his first year as head coach of the Warriors, Beveridge is instilling that belief into his players.

Of course, with their schedule, the Warriors have no choice. After an impressive win over Southbridge last week, Tantasqua faces a tough test at Northbridge tomorrow night.

In addition to facing the always-tough Rams, the Warriors also face Doherty, St. Peter-Marian and Grafton, as well as Algonquin Regonal and Nipmuc Regional — not many easy games for a team that graduated four Division 3 All-Stars from last year's Super Bowl finalists.

"(The coaching staff) has talked to kids about wanting to get the respect they think they are due, and how it isn't given, it is earned," Beveridge said. "For us, that road to respect starts Friday."

Though the Warriors graduated four all-stars, they return a slew of starters from last year's team, including standout two-way threats Spencer Duncan (LB/RB), Bobby Law (DE/OL), Nick Beaudry (WR/LB), Mike Nicholas (FB/LB) and Jeremiah Sciaraffa (WR/CB).

And although junior quarterback Zack Edwards might appear on paper to lack experience, he does have two years of familiarity running the pistol spread offense. Beveridge and Edwards ran the offense with the freshmen and JV teams the past two seasons.

"He is very comfortable in the system and knows it well," Beveridge said. "We have some great weapons in the backfield, the slot and on the outside."

Beveridge said one of the team's goals this year is to spread the ball around so teams can't focus solely on Duncan.

That was successful against Southbridge as nine players had touches.

"If we can do that consistently, we will be in great shape," Beveridge said. "Obviously, we have a great talent in Duncan and we want to get him the ball often, but we also want to keep defenses off-balance and get a lot of people involved."